in Re Attorney Fees of John W Ujlaky

• Court: Michigan Court of Appeals
• Decided: February 25, 2020
• Docket: 347432
• Status: Unpublished

Opinion

If this opinion indicates that it is “FOR PUBLICATION,” it is subject to revision until final publication in the Michigan Appeals Reports.

STATE OF MICHIGAN

COURT OF APPEALS

In re Attorney Fees of JOHN W. UJLAKY.

PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN, UNPUBLISHED February 25, 2020 Plaintiff,

v No. 347432 Eaton Circuit Court MARIA ANN MURPHY, LC No. 2017-020172-FH

Defendant,

and

JOHN W. UJLAKY,

Appellant.

Before: BORRELLO, P.J., and METER and RIORDAN, JJ.

PER CURIAM.

Attorney John W. Ujlaky appeals as of right the trial court’s order denying in part his request for appellate attorney fees. We reverse the trial court’s order and remand the matter to the court with instructions to either (1) award all the fees requested by counsel, or (2) articulate on the record, to the extent that fees are denied, its basis for concluding that such fees are not reasonable.

The trial court appointed Ujlaky as appellate counsel to represent defendant. Subsequently, Ujlaky submitted a Michigan Appellate Assigned Counsel System (MAACS) Statement of Service and Order for Payment of Court Appointed Counsel voucher to the trial court requesting attorney fees in the amount of $1,712 (42.8 hours at the hourly rate of $40) and out-of-pocket expenses of $174.75. The trial court approved payment of $628 in attorney fees and $174.25 in expenses, a total of $802.75. The trial court reduced the time of services rendered by 27.1 hours, but did not provide an explanation regarding why it approved payment of $628 in attorney fees or why it denied Ujlaky’s request for the additional $1,084 in attorney fees. This appeal followed.

-1- We review for an abuse of discretion a trial court’s determination regarding the reasonableness of compensation for services and expenses of court-appointed attorneys. In re Foster Attorney Fees, 317 Mich App 372, 375; 894 NW2d 718, 720 (2016). A trial court abuses its discretion when its decision falls outside the range of reasonable and principled outcomes. Id.

The trial court failed to address the reasonableness of the attorney fees that Ujlaky requested but was not awarded. Accordingly, we reverse the trial court’s order and remand with the instruction that “the trial court shall either award the requested fees, or articulate on the record its basis for concluding that such fees are not reasonable.” In re Ujlaky Attorney Fees, 498 Mich 890; 869 NW2d 624 (2015). In assessing the reasonableness of the attorney fees requested by Ujlaky, we direct the trial court to take into consideration our decisions in In re Mullkoff Attorney Fees, 176 Mich App 82, 85-88; 438 NW2d 878 (1989), and In re Jamnik Attorney Fees, 176 Mich App 827, 831-832; 440 NW2d 112 (1989).

We reverse and remand for proceedings consistent with this opinion. We do not retain jurisdiction.

/s/ Stephen L. Borrello /s/ Patrick M. Meter /s/ Michael J. Riordan

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